AbstractIn northern Europe wind energy became a dominating renewable energy source due to natural conditions and national support schemes. However, the uncertainty about wind generation affects existing network infrastructure and power production planning of generators and cannot not be fully diminished by wind forecasts. In this paper we develop a stochastic electricity market model to address the impact of uncertain wind generation on electricity markets and commitment decisions of generators. Stochastic programming techniques are used to incorporate uncertain wind generation. The technical characteristics of transporting electrical energy as well as power plants are explicitly taken into account. The consecutive clearing of the electricity markets is incorporated by a rolling planning procedure. The model is applied to the German electricity system covering an exemplary week. Three different cases of considering uncertain wind generation are analyzed. The results indicate that while the bidding behavior in the dayahead market is quite similar the approaches show notable differences in the behavior on the intraday market.

We are pleased to announce that the Kuhmo Nectar Conference and Summer School on Transportation Economics: Annual conference of the ITEA will be held in Berlin, Germany June 18-22, 2012.

The three-day Summer School is held on June 18-20, just before the Conference. It provides a condensed programme giving an introduction to academic research in transport economics including recent advances. The Summer School program consists of 10 lectures delivered by a faculty comprising a range of the most prominent researchers in transport economics.

The aim of the Conference, June 21 - 22, is to promote scientific excellence in the field of transport economics and to provide a forum for stimulating scientific exchange. Specific topics of interest include, but are not limited to, transport investment and funding, congestion pricing, time and risk, agglomeration effects, valuation of intangibles, aviation, competition, privatization etc. There will be awards with cash prizes for outstanding papers. The Conference and the Summer School are organised by DIW Berlin and Technical University of Berlin. The venue for the Summer School is DIW Berlin, the Conference will take place at Quadriga Forum, just a 5 minutes walk from DIW's premises.

Please note that being registered for abstract submission does not mean that you are automatically registered for attending the conference.If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us at: kuhmonectar_support@diw.de.

With kind regards,

the Kuhmo Nectar Conference and Summer School on Transportation Economics

Heike Link, Chair of the Local Organizing Committee Stef Proost , Chair of Scientific Committee Jan Brueckner, Chair of the Summer School Steering CommitteeKenneth Small, President of International Transportation Economics Association

Jointly organized by the DIW Berlin and Universität Potsdam, the Centre for Energy Economics and Policy (cepe), ETH Zurich, the Surrey Energy Economics Center (SEEC), University of Surrey, the Canadian Building Energy End-Use Data and Analysis Centre (CBEEDAC), University of Alberta and the Maguire Energy Institute (MEI), Southern Methodist University.

Attention: Participation only for those who have registered in advance.

Presenter: Dr. Jeff Makholm, Boston, USA, leads the Natural Gas Practice at National Energy Research Associates (NERA), he is a world-known expert in the natural gas sector and pipeline regulation in particular, and has advised industry and governments in the US, Asia, and Europe. Makholm is also author of a recent book "The Political Economy of Pipelines", University of Chicago Press (2012).Presenter: Dr. Klaus-Robert Kabelitz is Chief Economist of E.on Ruhrgas, one of the leading European players in natural gas, and in the energy field at large. Dr. Kabelitz has over 30 years of experience in the industry, and is an imminent specialist in German and European natural gas issues. Discussant: Prof. Christian von Hirschhausen is Research Director at DIW Berlin, and Chair of the Workgroup for Infrastructure Policy (WIP) at Berlin University of Technology (WIP).Moderator: Prof. Anne Neumann is Chair of Economic Policy at Potsdam University, and Research Professor at DIW Berlin.

Natural gas has turned from being a niche fuel to a major player in the European energy mix and beyond, and it expected to become a critical resource for succeeding the "Energiewende", i.e. the decarbonization process under way in Germany and in Europe. The objective of this DIW Berlin-OECD Lunchtime meeting is to discuss the future of natural gas and the related policies, i.e. pipeline development, import and trading, etc. From various angles: Are the German and European energy policies well positioned for the decarbonization via natural gas? What pipeline developments are required to support the low-carbon transformation? Will we observe similar issues as with electricity transmission lines? And what can be learned from other counties to foster the regulation of the natural gas sector?

This presentation deals with a simple, but nonetheless important question: Is it possible to combat with the challenge of global climate change through innovation and technology transfer even without a global treaty? Or do carbon leakage and the rebound-effect imply that it is possible to take advantage of technological improvements under the umbrella of a global arrangement only?

For answering this question a world with full international cooperation is compared with a world, where countries act non-cooperatively. More precisely, in case of non-cooperation and technology transfer three different cases are discussed. The first one is called Kyoto-plus, the second one labeled Kyoto-reversed, and the third one is nicknamed Kyoto-abolished. In all cases we employ a non-cooperative 2-stage game. Kyoto-plus means that in stage 1 the North decides: (1) to unilaterally reduce its domestic greenhouse gas emissions and (2), to transfer technological knowledge to the South. In stage 2 the South chooses its welfare maximizing inputs of carbon energy into regional production. If Kyoto-reversed is considered, in stage 1 the North decides on transferring technology while the South commits itself to reduce emissions in stage 2. Kyoto-abolished implies that although in stage 1 the North decides to transfer technologies to the South, neither the North nor the South commits them-selves on greenhouse gas mitigation. Instead in stage 2 both regions simultaneously choose their inputs of carbon energy into regional production.

Michael Grubb, Cambridge University, will give a seminar on Friday, the 16th of July, at CPI/DIW Berlin. He will outline how carbon flows through the main components of energy systems and supply chain, with an emphasis on the internal structure of flows in materials (steel, cement etc). He will discuss the affects the economics of instrument choice and explore the need to move from production only to a "carbon added" structure of regulation over time, analogous to VAT. Furthermore, issues of tracking and allocation carbon through electricity systems and the impact on investments in low carbon power sources, are core subjects of this seminar.